Aliquots - Research Briefs

March 8, 2021

Temperature, newts and a skin-eating fungus

Salamanders are more sensitive to a skin-eating fungus at colder temperatures, pointing to locations of North America where pathogen invasion is most likely.

By Leigh MacMillan
March 4, 2021

Probiotic protection

A probiotic factor given early in life to mice prevented intestinal inflammation in adulthood, providing a rationale for probiotic intervention in individuals at high risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease.

By Anivarya Kumar
March 4, 2021

Targeting glucagon action in diabetes

Disrupting the action of glucagon — a pancreatic hormone that works to raise blood glucose — restores functional insulin-producing cells in mouse models of type 1 diabetes and may be a promising treatment strategy.

By Leigh MacMillan
February 23, 2021

Calcification after severe injury

Vanderbilt researchers have linked bone-related complications of severely injured patients — findings that could help minimize these complications.

By Emily Stembridge
February 22, 2021

MRI view of brain tumor prognosis

In patients with glioblastoma brain tumors, features detected on MRIs at diagnosis were associated with survival, Vanderbilt Medical Center investigators found.

By Leigh MacMillan
February 18, 2021

Genetic clues in eye birth defect

Sabine Fuhrmann and colleagues have discovered a novel underlying cause of coloboma — a birth defect that causes missing tissue in the eye and accounts for up to 10% of childhood blindness.

By Leigh MacMillan
February 18, 2021

Gene variant and glucose metabolism

Genetic variation that impacts glucose- and insulin-related signaling affects responses to type 2 diabetes treatments and warrants further study.
By Leigh MacMillan
February 9, 2021

Imaging guidance for nerve repair

A noninvasive, quantitative MRI method could be used after surgical repair of traumatic peripheral nerve injury to help clinicians make decisions about whether additional surgical interventions are needed.
By Leigh MacMillan
February 8, 2021

Key factors in HIV-1 replication

HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS, exploits inositol phosphates in T cells to aid its own assembly and maturation — suggesting that targeting inositol phosphate binding could inhibit HIV-1 replication.
By Anivarya Kumar
February 4, 2021

New clue to postural tachycardia

Insight into the pathophysiology of an enigmatic and debilitating disease suggests new treatment approaches.
By Bill Snyder
February 4, 2021

Gene network for leukemia factor

A new method speeds the analysis of factors that control gene expression from days to minutes, allowing researchers to uncover new targets for cancer treatment.
By Leigh MacMillan
January 26, 2021

Rare tumor disguised as benign

A rare tumor that causes facial weakness was found masquerading as a more common benign facial tumor.
By Emily Stembridge
January 25, 2021

An interacting factor in leukemia

A blood stem cell protein plays a role in the initiation and progression of leukemia, Vanderbilt researchers have found.
By Anivarya Kumar